@PeterClarke: good summary but I will get you on a technicality!! Your statement "MEMS accelerometers work by measuring the capacitance..." is only partially correct. The capacitive proof mass type of accelerometers are the most common but there are many other types using different mechanical and electromechanical behaviours. For example, you can have a piezoelectric type (again a proof mass type but senses piezo voltage differentials), gas flow type... In the late nineties, I worked on the latter type (single and dual axis) which uses the principle of a hotwire anemometer to sense change in flow pattern of encapsulated gas brought on by the g-field. The problem is the cavity size needs to be small enough to increase the frequency response of the system to an acceptable level. MEMSIC even now produces g-sensors that work on this principle.
Your last statement some what concerns me -IDM route is not the way to grow MEMS business when faster innovations can come from fabless startups. This is absolutely essential to see a healthy advancement of MEMS market.
Dr. MP Divakar

There are so many requirement required to be fitted in the cars depending the different terrains, locations, types of usage many more parameters. Basically cars/vehicles are the second most occupied places where a person will have to spend his/her time throwout the life. So it will go on and on in terms of developments in incar electronics.

It need not be an astronaut's suit but just a few wireless sensors fitted in the car itself around the driver's seat could do this job. A wireless breath analyzer, a facial recognition camera and such simple minded stuff would do

Intriguing but not very practical. The car environment is being enhanced for the masses; you are suggesting that the masses need to be roused to be alert. That time will sure come but it will be part of the sensors installed in a vehicle and on the road. Doubt anybody wants to "suit up" like an astronaut to take the car for a spin or a long trip.

More and more electronics is being added to assist the driver in parking, checking surrounding obstacles and so on. Why not simplify the matter by having some electronics mounted on the driver's body to check the driver's alertness and if found dozing, not looking at the front, drunken, yawning, not overspending etc then creating some stimulus to bring him back to his senses. Because if the driver is alert and attentive then all the other things are automatically taken care of

biaunm: I believe Peter mentions in his story on first page, TPMS stands for tire pressure monitoring system. I urge you to read on and take a gander at the rest of the special edition. Table of contents here: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cmp/eetimes_ai_20110609/#/3/OnePage

Peter Clarke, since a central point in your story is that regulations are fueling growth, it would have been a kindness to your readers to have explained briefly what the TPMS mandate is or at least to have expanded the TPMS acronym.
If you got into this later in the story, I apologize for missing it. I stopped reading at this point, on page 1 of 3.